20 Unbelievable Mobile Commerce Statistics for 2020
Here in the UK, mobile commerce is a powerhouse of the retail world. It’s an accessible form of shopping on a regular basis. It cuts out the time and energy required to visit physical shops or even wait until you get home in order to buy something alone.
And the latest mobile commerce statistics are clear:
On the go shopping has never been such an affordable prospect as it is today.
The thing is:
Just by holding a mobile phone in their hand, we’re able to surf the web, set up accounts with multiple stores, and buy something through them. And once that’s done, we’re even able to use our mobile banking app to instantly check how much we’ve spent that day. More and more of us are doing that, according to the latest mobile banking statistics UK.
It’s an incredible way to shop in the modern day and age, but it’s a similarly great way to do business. Your business is guaranteed to benefit.
So, why don’t we start with some…
Amazing Mobile Commerce Statistics UK
- Since 2017, mcommerce sales have increased by at least 40% on a global scale.
- 93% of internet users are expected to be engaged with ecommerce by 2021.
- More than 73% of adults over the age of 16 use a smartphone in their day to day life in the UK.
- In 2018 in the UK, mcommerce sales made up 43.3% of all ecommerce sales in the retail sector.
- The UK’s mcommerce sector expected to be worth nearly £50 billion soon.
General M-commerce Statistics
Mcommerce is an incredibly efficient way to sell via the online world, and it’s why mobile-friendly websites are all the rage these days.
But what percentage of Internet traffic is mobile in 2018? Let’s find out.
1. More than 50% of all online traffic is sourced from mobile phones.
(Statista)
This is a staggering number, but it makes sense when you think about the pros and cons of mcommerce compared to ecommerce.
How often do you use your mobile? What kind of apps do you have downloaded to your home screen?
2. In the UK in 2018, Apple revealed that Amazon, Uber, and Wish were all among the top 20 most downloaded apps.
(Mashable)
The common theme here is that they’re all retail apps that allow you to instantly search for the products you need, and have them delivered straight to your door with no extra effort on the customer’s part.
In truth, we all have mobiles, don’t we? When you’ve got a mobile phone in hand, which always come built with web browsers already downloaded, you’re going to use it to keep your life convenient.
And that means you’re going to shop:
You have instant access to the whole market right at your fingertips. Even with the use of virtual assistants to do your shopping for you, most of these AIs exist in the devices we carry around in our bags and pockets.
3. Since 2017, mcommerce sales have increased by at least 40% on a global scale.
(The London Economic)
More people have access to portable devices. More people have the income to invest in such tools. So, with just a few swipes or taps of a button, they can have their whole weekly shop done, as well as stay up to date on the latest news and trends.
4. In the UK alone, more than 73% of adults over the age of 16 use a smartphone in their day to day life.
(ONS)
That’s right:
Nearly three-quarters of adult Brits rely on their smartphones to do pretty much everything from booking a table at a restaurant to Googling the most convenient way to get that new fancy coffee shop at the far end of town.
Why would that matter to UK businesses?
5. In 2018, there were about 66 million people living in the United Kingdom.
(ONS)
That’s over 48 million people currently using their mobile phones to go about their business, including mobile shopping and mobile banking.
What percent of ecommerce is mobile?
6. In 2018, more than 60% of smartphone users bought something online from their phone, mobile commerce statistics reveal.
(The London Economic)
This is one of the most important facts about m commerce.
The thing is:
It’s very easy to buy stuff online. You can store and keep your credit and debit cards directly on your phone. And once the option to place an order and pay pops up, you can use your fingertip to scan all of your details through. So, rather than having to input each and every number on the front and back of your card, you’ve gone through checkout in just a couple of seconds.
7. Apple Pay alone has over 383 million users worldwide, which is more than 5x the number of people in the UK alone.
(Statista)
Options such as Apple Pay are very common payment solutions, allowing a user to store all of their necessary payment details in a secure and encrypted portal that’s easy to access.
8. In 2018 in the UK, mcommerce sales made up 43.3% of all UK ecommerce sales in the retail sector.
(The London Economic)
The retail sector is a harsh one to operate in, but the stats don’t lie about the money that can be made through it. It’s a sector that’s oversaturated with competition. So, for a small business to try and compete against online retail giants like Amazon, a mobile-friendly website might just be the crux of the plan.
9. Since 2016, the UK has been been the third-largest ecommerce market in the world.
(ecommercenews)
Internet mobile usage statistics tell us that ecommerce in the UK is currently at an all-time high. In fact, the country is one of the worldwide leaders in the field, which might also explain why traditional high street shops have been struggling over the last few years.
10. In 2017, the total of all ecommerce sales combined added up to £586 billion.
(ecommerce news)
The fact that nearly half of all of these operations to be done via mobile and other portable devices suggests that at least £293 billion was made off of consumer phone activity alone.
11. According to mobile commerce stats, the UK’s mcommerce sector will soon be worth nearly £50 billion.
(ecommerce news)
Millions of Brits are using their phones to shop currently in the multi-millions. And when you factor in the number of online businesses that are set up every day, you’ll be able to project the amount of money that can be made in this sector on a yearly basis.
12. 5.7 million businesses were started in total in 2018 alone.
(Parliament)
The competition is rife. App usage stats indicate that if you have a mobile-enabled website or even your own app to ensure customers are able to create and maintain personalised portals, you’ll have made an investment that could potentially be worth billions in the near future. Even just a couple of years from now, your conversion rate could reach numbers you never thought possible.
What Is the Future for M commerce?
In a word:
Bright!
Let’s find out what the stats have to say.
13. In 2020, over 80% of businesses that also operate on the street will have mobile websites.
(The London Economic)
If one doesn’t already exist for your business, it’s time to enable these functions. Because in 2020, there will be a sharp increase in the number of retailers who operate both off and online, mobile commerce growth statistics confirm.
14. Only 18% of small enterprises and micro-businesses currently have a mobile-friendly website.
(Independent)
The latest m commerce facts show us that the vast majority of small businesses are lagging behind the latest trends.
Now, mobile optimisation may be difficult, but it’s absolutely crucial to stay ahead of the curve.
Here’s why:
15. Without a mobile-friendly website for consumers to use, there’s a chance that all of these currently missing online businesses will lose out on a combined total of £27 billion in profits.
(Independent)
There’s a real sense of growth in these amazing numbers alone. And the risks associated with opening up a website and allowing it to be used properly whilst operating a mobile device seem small in comparison.
16. By 2021, the amount of mcommerce sales that make up ecommerce will grow to 51.7%, according to statistics on mobile commerce.
(The London Economic)
Investing in mobile-enabled shopping habits is something that will increase a business’s ROI by tenfold in a modern market like the one we see throughout Britain. No matter what device a person is using to surf your website, a payment option will be available to them straight from their phone once they go through your online marketplace.
17. On a global scale, 15% of total sales in the retail sector are made up of mcommerce operations, which will amount to amount to $4.058 trillion in just the next couple of years alone.
(Sourcing Journal)
Give yourself a second to let these mind-blowing mobile commerce facts sink in!
And that’s not all:
In the UK, some sources say this will go on even further to become about 54%, which is well over half of the ecommerce sales that occur in the UK year by year.
Key takeaway:
The potential for mcommerce growth is exponential. The m-commerce growth statistics
available to the public easily paint a picture of an industry that’s going from strength to strength.
18. By 2022, smartphone users in the UK will increase to 53.96 million.
(Statista)
The UK population continues to grow, and the wages going into people’s pockets will be used to purchase innovative tech that makes running a household a lot easier. It’s clear that there will be more and more smartphone users in the UK, which will clearly impact future mcommerce statistics.
19. Mobile shopping stats allow us to see that mcommerce will steadily increase by about 3% to 4% year by year, up to and including 2022.
(Smart Insight)
There’s a whole new generation of shoppers on the way in the next few years. As they’re all digital natives, both ecommerce and mcommerce will benefit immensely.
Conclusion
So, Why choose to enable mobile surfing and shopping on your website?
Because it works, pure and simple! A few changes to your online portal to make it mobile-friendly, and you’ll be accessible to anyone, no matter where they are in the world.
The industry has some of the best statistics to boast when it comes to the current shopping generation. Researching further mobile commerce statistics UK is a good way to keep the conversation going.
Here’s the bottom line:
As our astonishing mobile commerce statistics clearly show, it’s an incredibly profitable sector. And more and more UK businesses are jumping on the bandwagon to increase their chances of success.
Mcommerce matters. It matters to you, it matters to the consumer, and it matters to the search engines that connect the two of you together.
FAQ
Q: What’s the difference between ecommerce and mcommerce?
A: While they sound very similar but they’re in fact two different things. Here are the main differences (and benefits) of mcommerce compared to ecommerce:
- Mobile commerce means portability. Shopping can be done on the go and anywhere in the world thanks to the use of portable devices, so mcommerce has a better reach than the standard form of ecommerce.
- Mobile commerce means consistent sales. Accessing the internet via a tablet or smartphone is something more and more people are doing. As long as a device is internet-enabled, it’s capable of conducting mcommerce in both the company and consumers’ favour.
- Mobile commerce means personalised recommendations. Mcommerce also allows user experience to be personalised, due to location-tracking technology. A small and local business, for example, could notify a nearby user there is a sale currently going on and then see that shopper in-store the same day. A standard ecommerce portal would have much more of a delayed reaction than this.
- Mobile commerce means security. Just like ecommerce, using your phone to shop allows you to turn on two-factor authentication. But the security protocols don’t stop there – using mcommerce-enabled devices to do your online shopping allows you to use thumbprint scans on stored credit cards. And you can also rely on Apple’s new faceID feature to ensure your purchases can be made by you and you alone.
Of course, m commerce has its advantages and disadvantages. But the mobile commerce statistics for the last couple of years have been promising, and the upward trend is set to continue into the new decade.
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